we're able to say whether these are small bits of metal that are therein tensionally or parts of the environment that were involved in the blast. >> reporter: that same trauma surgeon saying some of the patients have to come back again and again for repeat operations. also saying that he has never seen anything, john, like the volume, the quantity of people that were rushed into his er immediately following this attack. >> that's what we keep hearing, poppy. the numbers were just staggering. so how prepared were they really for this flood of victims? >> reporter: you can say fortunately they were prepared. fortunately for a situation as they wished would never happen because they told us they prepare for things like this, massachusetts general, saying that within minutes after they got their first patient and after the attack they instituted an incident command system within five to ten minutes. they had enough surgeons. they even told us they had people flying back in, coming within hours back to the hospital from trips to try to help and do everything that they could. but they were prepared an